Anthropology of Religion

The seminar is focused on the Tibetan treasure traditions within an interdisciplinary perspective, with the aim of coming to a better understanding of their possible origins. As Tibet sits at the crossroads of inter-cultural communication, it is important to understand the nature of South and East Asian influences on Tibetan traditions, as well as the extent to which indigenous traditions have been preserved. Moreover, since the treasure traditions are related to the anthropological problem of value, we aim to examine this dimension, in order to avoid the danger of confusing an anthropological universal with a cultural influence.

Las expresiones culturales en el siglo XXI son de los elementos que se buscan identificar y reconocer a partir de la diversidad de las culturas. Las devociones y festividades religiosas son algunas de estas expresiones que han sido identificadas como Patrimonio Cultural a nivel internacional o nacional, provocando así su consumo en perspectiva del turismo religioso. El caso que exponemos es lo acontecido en Perú de la festividad de San Judas Tadeo identificando los actores que promovieron su identificación de esta categoría a nivel nacional pero que además la misma expresión cultural no tiene reconocimiento en otros países de América Latina y sí reproducen su actividad, culturalmente hablando. A partir de los argumentos y datos presentados, identificamos los elementos de qué cultura es la que se vuelve patrimonio, quién la promueve y cómo se consume a través del turismo.

The Mandaeans—members of an ethnoreligious minority originally based in Iran and Iraq—are the bearers of the last living Gnostic tradition of the world. Their religious practice involves complex purification rituals, including food rituals and specific taboos that symbolically and practically distinguish them from their Muslim neighbors. The present-day Ahvazi Mandaean community includes approximately two thousand people, who express diverse food-related ritual practices and have different food restrictions and ideas of purity. In fact, the norms concerning religious dietary restrictions are continuously challenged, reinterpreted and transformed by the people according to the practical necessities of everyday life. This paper, through the narratives of the Mandaean women, describes how the connection between the Mandaean community and its social and political milieu has shaped the relationship between people and food and consequently changed the food-related rituals. Following the stories of Mandaean Ahvazi women, we show how historical experience and socio-religious factors have influenced the deep connection between Mandaean religion and food.

The aim of this Summer school, part of the didactic activites of the Chair King Hamad in inter-faith dialogue and peaceful coexistence of Sapienza, University of Rome, is to provide fundamental instruments, methods and skills in order to critically study the interactions between religions from the point of view of the peaceful coexistence

Dersim İnanç Sistemi ve Kutsal Mekân İlişkisi Dilşa Deniz/Ocak 2009 Yeditepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Antropoloji Doktora Öğrencisi Dersim-kutsallık ve mekân kavramları olarak üç ilişki ve bunun hayattaki yansıması bu metnin ana konusudur. Bunlardan ilki olan ve günümüzde il/kent olarak siyasi sınırı belirlenen Dersim/Tunceli, klasik anlamda bir kent olma durumundan çok, çevresiyle onu ayıran belli bir coğrafya içindeki sosyal/kültürel 'anlamlılık' alanıdır. Klasik Batılı anlamda bir kent özelliğine sahip olmasa da, Mumford'a göre 'öz tarihinin bulunduğu yer olan kent, bir toplumun güç ve kültürünün azami ölçüde yoğunlaştığı bir noktadır. Toplumsal etkililik ve anlamlılık olmak üzere her iki alanda da, yaşamın farklı ışıklarından yayılan ışınların odaklandığı, (...) entegre olmuş sosyal ilişkilerin bir formu ve sembolüdür (Mumford, 1940:3). Gerçekten de Dersim denen bölge, günümüzde bu sosyal ilişkilerin, yani sosyal hayatın kaynağından yayılan ilişkilerin/anlamların oluşturduğu bir odak, sosyal ilişki formu ve sembol ortaklığı olarak, insan-coğrafya ve köken ilişkisi ve entegrasyonunun yürütüldüğü bir yerdir. Bu güç ve kültürün ana taşıyıcılarından olan aşiret organizasyonu ve bunun inançla entegre edilmiş boyutu, bu "odaklık" durumunu daha da stratejik hale getirir. Antropoloji, bir disiplin olarak ortaya çıkışından günümüze kadar din ve inanca yoğun bir ilgi gösterir ve bir kurum olarak din ve inanç boyutunu, toplumları bütünsel bir anlama ilişkisi için önemli alanlar olarak kurar. Çünkü din ve inançların şekilleniş ve varlık buluş süreçleri insanlığın tüm gelişim süreçlerini içerir. Örneğin 'İnsandan tamamen farklı ve ona üstün, insanın sahip olduğu güçlerle ne derece, ne de tür bakımından karşılaştırılmayacak güçler kullanan doğaüstü varlıklar olarak tanrı kavramı, tarihin akışı içerisinde çok yavaş gelişmiştir' (Frazer, 2004:33-34). Bu yüzden de din, toplumun minyatürleşmiş bir modelini veren bir kurumdur. Bundan dolayı 'antropologlar, dinin insan toplulukları için önemine dair pek çok neden olduğunu belirtmişlerdir: Başka türlü kontrol edemeyecekleri belirsiz durumlarla başa çıkmanın yolu; başka türlü açıklanamayan (acı çekme, ölüm, günlük yaşam içindeki gizem) insanların hayatlarına anlam katmanın bir yolu, ve buraya dahil olanlar arasında sosyal dayanışmanın oluşmasına yardım eden'(Lavenda-Schultz, 2007:73) vs. etkenler olarak belirtirler. Dolayısıyla, din ve inanca yaklaşımda, bu çok yönlü karmaşık etkenlerin göz önünde bulundurulması gerekir. Zira insanın, bilimin de temelini oluşturan "anlama" çabasının en ilk, en temel ve belki de en uzun ömürlü çabası olan inanç, insanın bugüne bakışını belirleyen felsefi; bilimin henüz yanıtlayamadığı ya da yanıtlarının insanın

This paper focuses on the Ketama tribe in Central Morocco and their role in the production of kif and its derivates in the economical activity of the region. Its purpose is to present an anthropological point of view on the relationship between religion and cannabis. How can it be explained that in a country ruled by a religious monarchy, the production of cannabis flourishes ? First, this paper analyses the Ketama tribe’s relation with religion, taking into consideration the impact of kif production on the religions structure. And second, it questions the religious process which has allowed the Ketama to put aside any religious interdictions on cannabis.

U lamientu (lamento) è un canto molto commovente e suggestivo, rievoca i patimenti della Passione di Cristo, e viene eseguito durante la processione dell’Ecce Homo, la statua in carta pesta del Cristo flagellato risalente al ‘600. In questo canto si celano dolore, tormento, pianto e sofferenza di cui Gesù Cristo e la madre Maria, sono i protagonisti.

Professor Allegro (Univ. of Manchester) has hitherto been known for his several excellent books on the Dead Sea Scrolls. In an unusual reversal, he has now produced a book that will make The Passover Plot seem the last refuge of theological ultra-conservatism. The thesis of the book is simple enough: Jesus did not exist, the Gospels were & are a hoax, & Christianity is the atavistic vestige of an ancient fertility cult in which the object of worship was a peculiarly phallic mushroom, Amanita muscaria, capable of producing psychedelic reactions. As farfetched as all this may seem, it cannot be denied that he has brought to this work the same care & scholarly detachment that have characterized his earlier, & more conventional, works; & he has made not one concession to the sensational nature of his thesis. The book is, in fact, a demanding one, which presupposes in the reader at least a working knowledge of the ancient Semitic tongues & of the sciences considered auxiliary to biblical studies. Only the most determined non-professional iconoclast will be willing to wade through his unrelenting jargon. None of which, of course, will affect the demand for what is probably to become a very controversial work.

"A distinguished British scholar has written a
sensational book that is certain to cause the
greatest upheaval in orthodox christian thinking
since Charles Darwin said Man was descended from the ape.
For he not only argues the non-existence of Jesus Christ and the
Apostles, but claims that Christianity itself as
well as Judaism and other religions of the
Near and Middle East- are no more than
hangovers from an ancient fertility cult. Such a
claim, such a challenge to orthodox belief,
coming as it does from one of the country's
leading experts in his field, is something of a
religious H-bomb - threatening a shattering
fall-out." - Sunday Mirror

'I knew from the way it was attacked by the
religious Establishment in the Press that this
was a book it was important to read for its
challenge to common assumptions'
- The Daily Telegraph Magazine

'Allegro boldly sketches in the origins of the
primitive fertility cult with an exciting plunge
into the catacombs of antiquity where mythology
and mycology mingle in a poetict hallucinatory
haze of credible speculation. It is a
dazzling foray into the obscure hinterlands of
comparative philology'
- Dennis Potter, The Times

'A remarkable feat of scholarship'
The Glasgow Herald

Table of contents :
Preface
Introduction
1 In the Beginning God Created .. . .
2 Sumer and the Beginnings of History
3 The Names of the Gods
4 Plants and Drugs
5 Plant Names and the Mysteries of the Fungus
6 The Key of the Kingdom
7 The Man-child Born of a Virgin
8 Woman's part in the Creative Process
9 The Sacred Prostitute
10 Religious Lamentation
1 1 The Mushroom "Egg·' and Birds of Mythology
12 The Heavenly Twins
13 Star of the Morning
14 Colour and Consistency
15 Mushroom Cosmography
16 David, Egypt, and the Census
17 Death and Resurrection
18 The Garden of Adonis, Eden and Delight;
Zealots and Muslims
19 The Bible as a Book of Morals
Index

This book presents a consecutive story on the evolution of religions. It starts with an analysis of evolution in biology and ends with a discussion of what a proper theory of religious evolution should look like. It discusses such questions as whether it is humankind or religion that evolves, how religions evolve, and what adaptation of religions means. Topics examined include inheritance and heredity, religio-speciation, hybridization, ontogenetics and epigenetics, phylogenetics, and systematics. Calling attention to unsolved problems and relating the evolutionary subject matter to appropriate material, the book integrates and interprets existing data. Based on the belief that an unequivocal stand is more likely to produce constructive criticism than evasion of an issue, the book chooses that interpretation of a controversial matter which seems most consistent with the emerging picture of the evolutionary process.

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution,” the evolutionary biologist and co-founder of the so-called New Synthesis in Evolutionary Biology, Theodosius Dobszhansky (1900-1975), wrote in his famous essay of 1973, opposing creationism in American society. Today, Dobszhansky’s statement is not only fully accepted in biology, but has become the scientific paradigm in disciplines such as psychology, archaeology and the study of religions. Yet in spite of this growing interest in evolutionary processes in religion and culture, the term "evolution" and the capability of an evolutionary account have to date still not been properly understood by scholars of the Humanities. This book closes that gap.

Table of contents :

Front Matter ....Pages i-viii
Before We Embark on Our Discovery…  ....Pages 1-7
Evolution – What Is It?  ....Pages 9-32
Why a “Darwinian” Approach on Religious Evolution?  ....Pages 33-45
Absolute Prerequisite: Systematics and the Natural Evolving Unit  ....Pages 47-66
The Taxon Religion  ....Pages 67-83
Variability  ....Pages 85-101
Selection  ....Pages 103-126
Religions and Their Environment  ....Pages 127-147
Adaptation, Fitness, and Empty Niches  ....Pages 149-168
Learning and Communication – How Religions Reproduce  ....Pages 169-194
Speciation and Isolation  ....Pages 195-207
Genealogy Tree and Systematics  ....Pages 209-222
The Origin of Religion in the Evolution of Humans  ....Pages 223-241
Survival of the Fittest, or: Creation and Evolution of the Abrahamic Religions  ....Pages 243-256
Conclusion and Results  ....Pages 257-267
Back Matter ....Pages 269-280

L’ hiver 1366-1367, un visionnaire, Rigdzin Gödem, exhume une abondante collection de textes présumés cachés depuis le VIIIe siècle, époque de la première diffusion du bouddhisme au Tibet. Le plus profond d’entre eux, le dGongs pa zang thal, « La transparution immédiate de l’esprit », est un vaste ensemble d’instructions du Dzogchen, la « Grande Complétude ». Mais il faudra attendre le début du siècle dernier pour que Tülku Tsullo, ou Tsültrim Zangpo, l’ordonne en un manuel de pratique complet.
Voici la traduction française de ce maître-ouvrage de la spiritualité tibétaine, qui couvre tout l’itinéraire du pratiquant, des premiers renoncements éthiques jusqu’au détail de ce qui arrivera à l’adepte après sa mort, en passant par le couronnement de la contemplation et son étonnant déploiement de visions lumineuses. On y apprendra,entre autres, ce que sont le « vide de soi », la « destruction de la rigidité » et l’état naturel qui mène au « corps d’arc-en-ciel ». Une publication attendue, qui révèle des aspects encore mal connus du bouddhisme. Stéphane Arguillère l´a consacré vingt ans de travail.
--
Sommaire
Préface
Présentation
Le texte commenté : le dGongs pa zang thal et son « découvreur », Rig ’dzin rGod lDem
 
Le manuel et son auteur, sPrul sku Tshul khrims bzang po ou Tshul lo
 
Le texte
 
La traduction
  Le plan du Khrid yig skal bzang re skong
 
Notice de la première section : introduction -
Chapitres I à VII
  L’ornement de la Pensée des Vidyādhara comblant les aspirations des prédestinés. Manuel qui condense le sens intentionnel du dGongs pa zang thal
  Première partie – De la préparation

Chapitre I. Les qualités du disciple
 
Chapitre II. Caractéristiques des lieux de méditation
 
Chapitre III. Les points-clefs du temps
 
Chapitre IV. Les compagnons de pratique
 
Chapitre V. L’équipement
Chapitre VI. Histoire commune et extraordinaire de ce Dharma
Chapitre VII. De la consécration mûrissante
  Notice de la deuxième section : les quatre pensées qui détournent l’esprit du saṃsāra. -
Chapitres VIII-XI
  Transition. Introduction générale aux pratiques préliminaires
  Les quatre pensées qui détournent du cycle des existences
 
Chapitre VIII. La précieuse existence humaine
  (1) Définition des libertés et attributs
  (2) Réflexion sur le grand prix de la précieuse existence humaine
  (3) De la difficulté d’obtenir les libertés et les attributs dans l’avenir
 
Chapitre IX. L’impermanence et la mort
  Premier principe : qu’il est certain que nous mourrons
Première raison : il n’y a pas moyen d’écarter la mort
 
Deuxième raison : la vie n’a de cesse de décroître
 
Troisième raison : la mort ne sera pas longue à survenir
 
Second principe : contemplation de l’incertitude du moment de la mort
 
Première raison : la longévité des êtres du Jambudvīpa est indéterminée
 
Deuxième raison : comparaison de l’abondance des causes de décès et de la rareté des conditions qui soutiennent la vie
 
Troisième raison : précarité du corps
 
Troisième principe : au moment de la mort, rien n’est utile hormis la pratique de la Religion
 
Chapitre X. La fructification des actes
 
Chapitre XI. Les souffrances du cycle des existences
  Les enfers
  Les huit enfers chauds
  Les enfers périphériques
  Les huit enfers froids
  Les enfers particuliers
  Les esprits avides
  Ceux dont les tares sont extérieures
  Ceux dont les tares sont intérieures
  Ceux dont les tares concernent les aliments eux-mêmes
  Les souffrances des animaux
  Les animaux marins
  Animaux terrestres et notamment domestiques
  Les souffrances humaines
  Souffrances de la naissance
  Souffrances de la vieillesse
  Souffrances de la maladie et de la mort
  Souffrances de la confrontation avec ce qui est déplaisant
  Le tourment d’être séparé de ce qui est charmant
  La souffrance de ne pas obtenir ce à quoi l’on aspire
  Souffrances des titans
  Les souffrances des dieux
  Notice de la troisième section : les cinq coins, ou les préliminaires extraordinaires. -

Chapitres XII-XVII
 
Chapitre XII. Caractéristiques du pratiquant des Cinq coins
 
Chapitre XIII. Le coin du refuge et de l’esprit d’Éveil
  Abrégé
  Exposé développé
  Enseignement développé sur la prise de refuge
(1) La visualisation des objets de refuge
(2) La manière de prendre refuge.
(3) Les préceptes de la prise de refuge
 
Explication développée de la production de l’esprit d’Éveil.
 
Chapitre XIV. Le coin du maṇḍala
  Le maṇḍala extérieur
  Le maṇḍala intérieur
  Le maṇḍala secret
Chapitre XV. Le coin de la méditation-récitation de Vajrasattva
 
Chapitre XVI. Le coin de l’impermanence
Chapitre XVII. La manière de suivre le maître et le guru-yoga
 
Notice de la quatrième section : les préliminaires spécifiques du rDzogs chen. -
Chapitres XVIII-XXIII
 
Chapitre XVIII. De la supériorité de cette voie
 
Chapitre XIX. Généralités sur les préliminaires spécifiques
  Les préliminaires
  Ce que les préliminaires précèdent
  En quel sens ils sont préliminaires
  Les préliminaires illustrés par des exemples
  Utilité des préliminaires
  Subdivision des préliminaires
 
Chapitre XX. Le yoga des quatre éléments

Chapitre XXI. Les dissociations d’avec le saṃsāra et le nirvāṇa
  La dissociation du corps
  Son utilité
  Le lieu où il convient de la mettre en pratique
  Production de l’esprit d’Éveil
  La méthode
  Comment se recueillir ensuite
  Digression sur l’ordre des pratiques préliminaires
  Dissociation de la parole
  Son utilité
  Production de l’esprit d’Éveil
  Le lieu convenable
  La méthode
  Comment se recueillir ensuite
  La dissociation mentale
  Dissociation de l’esprit et du saṃsāra
  La dissociation de l’esprit et du nirvāṇa
  Remarques sur les trois dissociations
 
Chapitre XXII. Les abandons à l’état naturel
  La méthode
  Leur nécessité
 
Chapitre XXIII. La purification du triple portail
La consécration, la confrontation au mode-d’être et le Khregs chod. -
 
Chapitres XXIV-XXVI
  La Pratique principale
  La Voie proprement dite
  La libération du pratiquant supérieur en cette vie
 
Chapitre XXIV. La consécration mûrissante et la confrontation à la nature du Fond
  La consécration mûrissante
  Les préceptes libérateurs
  La détermination de la nature du Fond
 
Chapitre XXV. Premier système de Khregs chod : le brassage des trois cieux
  Khregs chod
  Les préceptes du brassage des trois cieux
 
Chapitre XXVI. Second système de Khregs chod
  Notice de la sixième section : le Thod rgal. -
Chapitres XXVII-XXXII
 
Chapitre XXVII. De la supériorité du Thod rgal relativement au Khregs chod
 
Chapitre XXVIII. Les points clefs du corps, de la parole et de l’esprit dans le Thod rgal
  Points clefs du corps
  Points clefs de la parole
  Points clefs de l’esprit
 
Chapitre XXIX. Les points clefs de la perception directe de la connaissance principielle
 
Chapitre XXX. L’essence de l’Intelligence et les quatre lampes
  (1) L’essence de l’Intelligence
  (2) Les quatre lampes
 
Chapitre XXXI. Les quatre visions
  L’intuition de la Réalité
 
Chapitre XXXII. La triple immobilité, les trois repos, la triple obtention et les quatre assurances
  Notice de la septième section : L’état intermédiaire post-mortem. -
Chapitres XXXIII-XXXVIII
 
Chapitre XXXIII. Les quatre états intermédiaires en général
  La libération des pratiquants moyens dans l’état intermédiaire
  Présentation générale de l’état intermédiaire

Chapitre XXXIV. Comment on se libère dans l’état intermédiaire
  La tourterelle qui rentre au nid
  Transition aux deux préceptes suivants
 
Chapitre XXXV. Les signes avant-coureurs de la mort, le processus de l’agonie et l’accompagnement des mourants
  Exposé sous forme abrégée des signes avant-coureurs de la mort et du processus de l’agonie
  Signes avant-coureurs de la mort
  Le processus de l’agonie
  Le mode de résorption des quatre canaux des éléments
  Comment, au moyen des préceptes, jeter de la clarté ?
 
Chapitre XXXVI. La libération dans l’état intermédiaire de la Réalité
  Le transfert du souffle au moment où l’Intelligence pénètre dans les yeux
  l’Éveil au moment où les yeux pénètrent la claire lumière.
 
Chapitre XXXVII. Les points clefs des trois temps
  L’entrée, point clef de la conscience
  La libération, point clef du corps
  l’ultime aboutissement, point clef de la reconnaissance
  Le nirvāṇa du Bouddha au moment où les yeux pénètrent dans l’Intelligence
  L’atteinte du Fond ferme et inaltérable
 
Chapitre XXXVIII. La libération dans l’état intermédiaire de la possibilité ou dans une vie suivante
 
Chapitre XXXIX. La manière d’accomplir le résultat à la fin
  Le pratiquant inférieur s’éveille dans la vie suivante
 
Chapitre XL. Les seize Terres et les trois Corps fruitifs
  L’obtention progressive des seize Terres
  Les trois Corps au moment du fruit
  Cinq ou six Corps
  Conclusion
  Plan de la section
 
Chapitre XLI. Les engagements et le triple sceau
  Les engagements
  Le triple sceau
  Le sceau du secret
  Les deux sceaux relatifs à l’obligation d’enseigner
 
Chapitre XLII. La réversion des mérites
 
Chapitre XLIII. Considérations finales et colophon
 
Considérations finales
 
La profondeur singulière du dGongs pa zang thal
 
Nécessité de la composition du présent manuel
Colophon
 
Appendices
 
Appendice 1. table analytique du Khrid yig skal bzang re skong 
3. Table analytique du Kun bzang dgongs rgyan
4. La dissociation interne selon le Khrid yig ye shes bla ma de ’Jigs med gling pa
5. Le sor gzhug pa selon Klong chen rab ’byams
Bibliographie. Avec quelques éclaircissements pour les textes tibétains

This study is based on the conceptual framework created by Dayan and Katz (1992) 5
focusing on what they called media events, and it proposes a step forward by applying
an anthropological framework to such media phenomena. My analysis is focused on
the symbolic mechanism through which the Romanian media produced a media event
out of an ‘ordinary’ Michael Jackson concert, ritualised journalists’ behaviour and conferred
religious-like meanings, ceremonial and mythological in nature, not only to the 10
gestures and reactions of the star-idol performing his show, but also to its political and
social echoes. The media events’ theoretical model could explain the social mobilisation
produced by the media (as a strong short-term media effect). Nevertheless, it
does not explain the transformation of the journalistic discourse into a liturgical one.
The study shows that the process of commodification of saints, heroes and stars by the 15
media is mirrored by another process, that of the sacralisation of celebrities through
journalistic discourse.

Blancarte Pimentel, Roberto (coord.) Diccionario de religiones en América Latina / coord. de Roberto Blan-carte Pimentel.-México: FCE, El Colegio de México, 2018 698 p. ; 23 x 17 cm-(Colee. Antropología) ISBN 978-697-628-389-9 (El Colegio de México) ISBN 978-607-16-5917-0 (FCE) LCBL31 Dewey 203 B216h Este Diccionario contiene referencias cruzadas, que aparecen al final de cada entrada, con el objeto de indicarle al lector la existencia de más información sobre el tema en otras contribuciones del mismo. Así, por ejemplo, al revisar "Marianismo" se remite también a la llamada "Virgen María".

This study posits that the translation of the Bible into the Igbo language engendered the elaboration of the language to enable it express the ideas and concepts borne in the Christian religion. Language elaboration, as used in this work, refers to the expansion of the functions of a language, i.e. use of the language in new domains, introduction of new lexical and semantic elements to the repertoire of the language. Four research questions guided the analysis carried out in the work: What lexical processes were adopted in creating new terms in Bible translation into Igbo? What strategies were employed in representing Christian concepts in the Bible translations? How have these lexical and conceptual innovations evolved across the different translations? How have the lexical and conceptual innovations spread among Igbo speakers? To answer these questions, two types of analysis are carried out: a textual analysis of a corpus of terms created and introduced into Igbo through eight Igbo Bible translations, and an analysis of a questionnaire survey on the spread of some of these new terms and concepts in contemporary Igbo usage. Findings show that the Bible translations enriched the Igbo lexicon mainly through the processes of compounding, descriptive phrases and lexical borrowing. Secondly, the translations introduced Christian concepts into Igbo mainly by appropriating existing terms for Igbo concepts and giving them new significations in the Igbo Bible. Thirdly, later translations lexically and semantically differentiated Christian concepts from traditional Igbo concepts. They also differentiated two Christian concepts by representing them with distinct terms where the earlier translations represented the concepts with the same term, thereby facilitating the emergence of an Igbo Christian register. Fourthly, some of the Biblical innovations are restricted to use within Christian religious contexts, thereby suggesting the emergence of an Igbo Christian register. However, many others have spread into Igbo beyond their use in the Bible and some have acquired new meanings in the language and also got entries in Igbo dictionaries